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Actress and NYRP Founder Bette Midler attends the Bette Midler's 2017 Hulaween Event Benefiting The New York Restoration Project at Cathedral of St. John the Divine on October 30, 2017 in New York City.
Photo by Mark Sagliocco/FilmMagic

‘Your gaslighting playbook is a joke’: ‘Hocus Pocus’ spellcaster Bette Midler holds a magic mirror up to Donald Trump and JD Vance’s vitriol

The least we can do is pay attention to Winifred Sanderson as she reveals the true face of the GOP's Wizards of Odd.

If there’s anyone who can hold a mirror up to the vicious visages of Donald Trump and JD Vance, it’s none other than the witty and wise Bette Midler, the iconic Hocus Pocus enchantress.  

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Since the 2024 presidential campaign kicked off, the duo have made it their mission to out-vile each other in a race to the bottom of the political septic tank. Their strategy? Spew as much hateful bile as possible and hope the acrid stench fires up their base like a flaming tiki torch. If this sinister strategy sounds eerily familiar, that’s because it’s torn straight from the yellowed playbook of history’s most infamous fascists. Just as Hitler scapegoated Jews and fanned the flames of ultranationalism, Trump and Vance are demonizing immigrants and stoking the embers of white grievance politics.

With a flick of her wrist, the clairvoyant enchantress who brought Winifred Sanderson to life on the silver screen now illuminates the lurid spectacle of Trump’s jaundiced, leathery visage frozen in a perpetual scowl, while his loyal viper Vance waits with a forked tongue, ready to lash out on command. The Hollywood icon has transformed her X feed into a scathing indictment of the former president. In her latest tweet, Midler drew a clear distinction between the two sides.

Midler’s reference to “vermin” and immigrants “poisoning the blood of our country” is a direct callback to Trump’s vile statements from the past year. At a rally in November 2023, Trump channeled his inner Hitler, vowing to “root out the communists, Marxists, fascists, and the radical left thugs that live like vermin.” He’s also vomited forth the vile claim that undocumented immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.” It’s all in a day’s hate speech for a bloviating demagogue who, during the recent presidential debate, regurgitated the maliciously moronic myth that Haitian immigrants are feasting on Fido and Fluffy in Ohio.

It’s hard to fathom why any rational person would still side with Trump and Vance, especially after their degrading attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris. From referring to her as “Comrade Kamala” and “Kamabla” to JD Vance’s misogynistic “childless cat lady” jab, the duo’s vitriol knows no bounds. Midler is right to sound the alarm about the diabolical duo. Previously, the Hocus Pocus witch swiftly bashed Trump for his all-caps Truth Social post: “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!” Swift’s crime? Daring to voice her support for for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 election.

We’ve all witnessed Trump’s use of all-caps rants, his calls for violence during the Jan. 6 Capitol riots (which, despite his denial, resulted in deaths and numerous injuries), and his threats to imprison opponents once he cons his way back into power. He’s even openly vowed to go after Mark Zuckerberg for banning him from social media platforms. Bette understands the stakes, which is why she’s putting Trump and Vance’s poisonous words on blast. She’s holding up that mirror and forcing us to stare into the void of their villainy. So thank you, Bette Midler. As you’ve so artfully reminded us, it’s not just hocus pocus – it’s a clear and present danger to our democracy.


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Omar Faruque
Omar is a seasoned writer specializing in all things entertainment. His approach to life and writing is the same: find the story in everything, and make sure to enjoy the ride. When not behind his keyboard, Omar is living his best life, whether that's channeling his inner superhero, trying to replicate anime recipes in his kitchen, or settling into his favorite coffee shop corner with a good book.